远涉重洋

yuǎn shè chóng yáng

to travel across distant seas

Character by character

远yuǎn
far

涉shè
cross

重chóng
layered

洋yáng
oceans

爷爷年轻时远涉重洋，到南洋谋生，一去就是几十年。

As a young man Grandpa crossed the seas to make a living in Southeast Asia and stayed away for decades.

Tone: neutral.

重 is chóng, layer upon layer, not zhòng. Formal: used of long journeys overseas, emigration and missions abroad, often with a note of hardship.

Learn this in Lesson 97 · HSK 6–7: 郑和下西洋 (Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Ocean)

A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.